The Social Dimension of Heritage Values—Re-thinking Methodological Approaches for Heritage Management and Research

Dear Colleagues,

Heritage sites, events, ruins, and fragments can evoke different sensations, emotions, and memories of our own history and the history of others. In the last two decades, cultural managers, urban planners, conservators, and architects have begun to approach heritage valorisation from different perspectives. However, the integration of interactions between people and heritage by managers attempting to assess heritage values has been beset with difficulties. Although the definition, evaluation, and use of heritage values has been one of the most important themes in heritage management for more than twenty years (Avrami 2009, Avrami, Mason and de la Torre [eds.] 2000, Parga-Dans and Alonso González 2019), there is still a seemingly unbridgeable gap between those heritage values that experts consider to be the most appropriate and those that society needs. A move among heritage practitioners to become more aware of people’s different cultural perceptions of heritage has also motivated recent studies (Barreiro and Criado-Boado 2015, De la Torre 2013, Gao and Jones 2020, Taylor 2015). With this in mind, a series of studies and tentative participatory processes has attempted to approach novel ways of categorising social values (e.g., Apaydin [ed.] 2020, Fedheim and Khalaf, Fusco Girard 2014, Jones 2017). But how can they be applied in practice?

Nowadays, heritage values are part of every project associated with the dissemination, conservation, maintenance, and experiential improvement of places related to cultural heritage (Fouseki et al. 2020, Pastor Pérez 2018). At this stage, some controversial questions arise. Can we think of heritage values that do not have a social component? How are the social and long-term sustainable dynamics of valorisation being applied in projects? Can the intangible social value of cultural heritage be put into a straitjacket to be evaluated? How can the social impact of heritage be assessed? The literature on the various forms of cultural heritage measurement and assessment is abundant and varied in terms of theory. However, there is a need for research into how assessment methodologies that have the potential to promote a sustainable impact can be implemented in practice (Demas 2013, Díaz-Andreu 2017, Molina Neira 2019, Parga-Dans, Alonso González and Otero Enríquez 2020).

This Special Issue aims to explore new approaches to defining the term “heritage value”, incorporating cultural awareness and social justice issues into its social use (Rastegar et al. 2020). With regard to the future, authors will be asked to look into how managers, educators, and researchers currently use heritage values and, in particular, how they integrate the social aspect of heritage into their theory and practice. We intend this volume to critically reflect on the limits of indicators for measuring heritage values, especially when attempting to reveal the social dimension of heritage. The ultimate aim of the Special Issue is to argue that working on methods that bring us closer to the social impact of a heritage project implies building true bridges between the different agents, especially between academia and society.

Contributions to the Special Issue may include theoretical articles, articles that develop topics based on particular case studies and, finally, photographic essays.

Dr. Ana Pastor Pérez
Dr. David Barreiro Martínez
Dr. Eva Parga Dans
Guest Editors

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• heritage management
• heritage values
• cultural perception
• social value
• assessment methodology
• indicators for measuring heritage values
• social dimension of heritage